U.S. Pat. No. 5,558,262 and its related family of patents disclose dispensers for plastic bags. The bags are provided in a roll with a core which extends beyond the edges of the roll. The bags are separated by a tear line which includes a central slot which engages a separating tongue in the dispenser as the bags are dispensed. From a commercial point of view, it is important to prevent freewheeling of the roll when a consumer pulls the outer bag. To accomplish this objective, a braking surface is provided which contacts the roll. However, because the diameter of the roll (and thus its weight) changes considerably during use (as the bags are dispensed), it is desirable to increase the braking force as the roll is depleted. For this purpose, the tracks in which the roll is supported may be curved so that the relative braking component of force increases as the diameter of the roll decreases.
The current commercial version of the dispenser shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,558,262 is illustrated and described in U.S. patent application No. 09/036,818 filed on Mar. 9, 1998 and entitled Plastic Bag Dispenser and Support Mechanism Therefor. As disclosed in that application, in addition to the force provided by the braking surface of the dispenser, a supplemental braking force is applied to the ends of the core by the sidewalls of the dispenser. However, this force may not always be enough to prevent freewheeling of a small roll while pulling a bag out of dispenser. The sidewalls of the dispenser converge outwardly from the rear surface of the dispenser in order to prevent the roll from riding upwardly as the bags are pulled.
The dispensers shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,558,262 and application Ser. No. 09/036,818 are made of plastic which, because of static electricity, can attract particles of dust and fluid which may cause discoloration. This problem can be avoided by constructing the dispenser of chrome plated wire as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,556,019. The present invention provides a dispenser which operates in much the same way as the dispenser shown in application Ser. No. 09/036,818 but which is manufactured out of metal wire and can supply an extra supplemental braking force to the ends of the core through special spring elements.
U.S. Pat Nos. 5,558,262 and 5,556,019 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/036,818 are hereby incorporated by reference into this application.